


A Gift of Murder

by owlbsurfinbird



Category: Lewis (TV)
Genre: Angst, Christmas, Gen, Triple Drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-17
Updated: 2014-12-17
Packaged: 2018-02-28 04:46:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2719235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlbsurfinbird/pseuds/owlbsurfinbird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Good thing his wishes rarely come true...</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Gift of Murder

Christmas is hell.

It isn't the weather, the crowds, the same incessant Mannheim Steamroller tunes. The feigned happiness and goodwill. The thirty foot Christmas tree on the Korean border to annoy the neighbors. For James it is the conflict between heart and mind, faith and reason. The darkest time of year is supposed to bring joy. A truth to be communicated. A Savior unto us is given.

Fairy lights decorate office windows in the station. Inappropriate, perhaps, but meant to cheer. The office feels warm, close. Smelling of tea, wet wool, damp paper.

_Pickpocket. Petty theft. Drunken brawl. Possession of stolen goods._

Lizzie has a USB-powered snowflake plugged into her computer: an American gadget Tony bought. Its changing colors turn the wall into a warped stained glass window. Robbie is scanning web pages for a gift for grandson Jack: a catapult or a DVD.

_Parents coming to blows over child custody. Car theft. Drug possession._

James thinks of holly, a blood red berry, Midnight Mass, and Jesus Christ rising from the dead at Easter. He thinks of forty-three hours of Christmas music stored in his iCloud. He could choose a mood: reflective, joyous, religious, pop. Could set his computer screen-saver to gently snow on an idyllic scene of fir trees. Could ignore the way Laura bustled in earlier to bring Robbie the gloves he forgot that morning. Could overlook their teasing exchange, the confirmation Robbie would be cooking dinner, the shared laughter, the quick kiss.

Could ignore the sensation of his heart breaking.

_Minor assault. Breaking and entering. Shoplifting._

Later, Lizzie will go home to Tony. Robbie will go home to Laura.

James will go home to an empty flat, a bottle, and God.

'Tis the season of giving. Would it be too much to ask for a distracting murder?


End file.
